“In 48 years we will not be fooled” said Ka Carlo of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-New People’s Army (NPA)-Celso Minguez Command during the 48th anniversary celebration held in Sorsogon province, monday.

The gathering for the anniversary of CPP’s reestablishment on December 26, 1968 was primarily to recognize the Party’s 48 years of revolutionary struggle that has developed nationwide strength and prestige. To NPA-Celso Minguez Command, the celebration was also to charge the Duterte administration in its failed promises, especially the present regime’s failure to fulfill its promised measures for the peace talks.

“Peace talks is just part of parliament struggle according to Ka Carlo. “We applaud since the 19 political prisoners were freed but we just applaude” he said.

Rotten ruling system continues

The Philippine semicolonial and semifeudal system has been wallowing in a continuing and deepening crisis according to Central Committee of CPP.

“The neoliberal policies have brought about widespread destruction of productive forces, especially of the working class who are experiencing worsening forms of capitalist exploitation in all countries, including the highly industrialized capitalist powers,” CPP central committee stated.

“The productive classes of workers and peasants are mired in poverty and socio-economic difficulties as they suffer from chronic mass unemployment, low wages, contractualization and other oppressive labor policies, landlessness and landgrabbing, environmental plunder, rising costs of living and more frequent and more destructive natural calamities. The reactionary government fleeces the people with burdensome taxes while social services continue to deteriorate amid budget cuts, rampant corruption and state neglect,” its statement added.

Foreign monopoly capitalists, big bourgeois compradors and the landlord class continue to accumulate wealth and profit. They exploit workers especially in highly oppressive labor enclaves as well as centers of so-called “business outsourcing.” In the countryside, they exact feudal land rent from land monopoly according to CPP central committee.

“They control vast tracts of plantation land operated directly by foreign-controlled agro-corporations and indirectly through so-called “contract-growing” agreements. The exploiting classes collaborate with bureaucrat capitalists to benefit from control of state funds and contracts,” CPP central committee added.

“Worst deception, worst crimes happened” said Ka Carlo, that deception started during the regime of Cory Aquino.

Ka Carlo agreed that the Filipino people are fed-up with the rotten ruling system. They seethe with revolutionary rage. They aspire to end the system of exploitation and oppression and are ever ready to wage revolutionary struggle under the leadership of the Party.

“Without a people’s army, the people have nothing”

Guided by Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, CPP will further consolidate and strengthen itself ideologically, politically and organizationally in order to bring forward the national democratic revolution to greater heights. Primarily, CPP will further strengthen its leadership of the people’s war by firmly directing the NPA in waging revolutionary armed struggle.

The Party and concerned commands of the people’s army are intent on urgently resolving the overdispersal of NPA units in squads or teams in some regions in the counterproductive effort of covering a wide area with limited forces – address the stark imbalance between the development of the people’s war in Mindanao, on the one hand, and the stagnation in Luzon and Visayas.

In Luzon, Bicol needs to strengthen its people’s army according to Ka Carlo. Sorsogon has bigger forces but there’s a need to balance the people’s army in other provinces in the region according to Ka Carlo.

Celso Minguez Command is willing to deploy its forces to areas with limited forces. “The hope in revolution is the New People’s Army so strengthen it,” Ka Carlo said.

By deploying the strength of the people’s army with the platoon as the basic unit and with front, interfront and regional centers of gravity, CPP shall increase the NPA’s capacity to exercise initiative and flexibility, have a sufficient core of Party cadres to ably lead the political and military work of the NPA, raise the morale of Red fighters and the masses, and enable them to carry out a slew of other tasks in waging agrarian revolution and base building. CPP can also accelerate the recruitment of new Red fighters and the formation of new platoons in order to cover wider areas of operation.

“At present, Rodrigo Duterte opened the door of friendship in all revolutionary movements. Since then your army [Celso Minguez Command] conformed to the rules and declarations of the party to give way to the spirit of friendship. This includes the observance of ceasefire even it’s too hard for your army [Celso Minguez Command] to avoid continuous attacks of the reactionary forces that do not conform to their own ceasefire,” Ka Doy of NPA – Celso Minguez Command said.

The situation in revolutionary masses and people’s army is stiff because of continuing attacks of enemies who are hiding in Oplan Tokhang and in peace and development operations according to him.

Ka Doy added that during ceasefire and peace talks, their troops remained in active defense. Their troops did not allow and will never allow their enemies to destroy the achievements of the party and the revolutionary forces.

During this time of ceasefire, it does not mean that the war is already finished according to Ka Doy. “We must not think to be complacent because of ceasefire period. Avoid to fall into the trap of the enemy. This call will not only be for the people’s army or the revolutionary masses in the countryside but also to comrades active in urban,” Ka Doy asserted.

“We must handle the superiority in politics, let our NPA be felt. Support the revolutionary masses of our revolution, it will ensure our win, it will ensure our success,” Ka Doy concluded.